Collapsible dispensing container and blank for making same



Nov. 25, 1958 H. L. METZGER COLLAPSIBLE DISPENSING CONTAINER AND BLANK FOR MAKING SAME 2 Sheets-She et 1 Filed Oct. 25, 1956 I 2 J 2 3 a fi fi H. v I d a 0 U. [I 4 1 0Q 4. W 3 M w i Z a.

enry L.Me tz er;

W H/s A t tor/ve ns.

COLLAPSIBLE DISPENSING CONTAINER AND BLANK FOR MAKING SAME Filed Oct. 25, 1956 Nov. 25, 1958 H. L. METZGER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [r7 yer? to)": Herw g L.M8Z'Z e '7 by M 11 His At or-v've gs.

. portion; and

United States Patent COLLAPSIBLE DISPENSING CONTAINER AND BLANK FOR MAKING SAME Henry L. Metzger, Casfleton-on-Hudson, N. Y., assignor to Fort Orange Paper Company, Castleton-on-Hudson, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 25, 1956, Serial No. 618,346

3 Claims. (c1. 229 17 This invention relates to improvements in dispensing containers and blanks for making the same and, more particularly, to such containers, and blanks, readily adapted to receive a cigarette package and to dispense the same from an opening provided by a hinged section of a portion only of a top panel, and the provision of such an article is the principal object of the invention.

Generally, it is an object of the invention to provide such a blank and container that is economic of shipment in collapsed form, economic of manufacture and, when erected, loaded, and sold will allow dispensing of the contents with ease and facility; will expose a minimum of the contents to the atmosphere, thereby preventing drying out, or moisture-vapor transmission, and in which a cigarette can readily be ejected by tapping the unhinged portion of the top panel against the hand.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide such a blank or container having a generally' L-shaped structure hingedly connected along its leg to an end wall with the foot portion providing the top closure panel, one portion of which is fixed in position by a wing member secured to a side wall, and the other portion of which provides a hinged closure panel to open and close the container, the latter having oppositely disposed wing members which provide a limit stop when the hinge is closed as well as when it is open, the wings being in frictional engagement with the side walls'to maintain the hinged closure panel in opened or closed position.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties, and the relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a die-cut and scored blank illustrating the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a blank folded over upon itself and secured together to provide a collapsed container;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the collapsed container of Fig; 2 squared for end or bottom loading;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the loading operation with the top sealed;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the final package,

cellophane wrapped, and with the Federal tax stamp in position;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the removal of the tear strip;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the breaking of the stamp and the opening of the hinged top panel 2,861,733 Patented Nov. 25, 1958 Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view of the top portion of the container, somewhat enlarged, showing the partially hinged top panel in open position.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is indicated generally at 10 a die-cut and scored blank of paper board material comprising a rectangularly shaped panel 11 divided into two parts of similar portions, namely, side walls 12 and 13, and end walls 14 and 15, divided by two pairs of transverse, parallel score lines 16 and 17, and 18 and 19.

A generally L-shaped structure, also generally indicated at 20, hingedlyis connected along its leg 21 to the end wall 15 along the score line 19. This structure has a foot portion 22 defined by parallel score lines 23 and 24, a cut edge 25, and a score line 26, when the same is made as shown in the drawing. The panel 22 provides a top closure panel for the container. However, the top closure panel 22 is provided with a hinge line 27, between the score lines 23 and 24, thereby dividing the closure panel 22 into two sections, 28 and 29.

The section 28 has a wing member 30 defined by the score line 23 opposite theleg 21 to be secured to the side wall 13 following an application of glue thereto, as will more fully appear hereinafter, to provide a fixed closure panel section.

The other section 29 provides a hinged closure panel to open and close the container and is provided with oppositely disposed wing members 31 and 31', defined in part by the score lines 23 and 24, and by cut edges 32 and 33, respectively, contiguous with the wing 30 and leg 21, from which the same have been separated in the die cutting operation.

The blank preferably is provided with a reenforcing tab 34 to which glue is applied, as indicated at 35.

The blank also is preferably provided with a reenforcing panel 36 hingedly connected to the end panel 15 along the score line 24 and is contiguous to the top closure panel 22 from which it has been severed as at 25. Preferably, the side wall 12 is marginally provided with a line of glue as at 37.

Extending from the alternate side and end walls 12, 13, 14 and 15 are bottom closure panels or flaps38 and 39, and 40 and 41, respectively, hinged thereto along the score line 42, that are permanently to be sealed together in overlapped relation to form a permanent bottom after the container has been bottom-loaded with a cigarette package;

The blank 10 is nextfolded upon itself and secured to provide a collapsed container, as shown in Fig. 2, by first folding the end wall 15 and the L-shaped structure 20 around the score line 18 and then folding the side wall 12 around the score line 16 so that the glue strip 37 falls along and becomes secured to the leg 21. In this condition the leg 21 of the L-shaped structure 20, and attached end wall 15, will be in face-to-face relation with the adjacent side wall 13, and the wing member 31', adjacent the leg 21, will be folded in part upon the adjacent side wall 13 and in part upon the other end wall 14, the remaining side wall 12 being folded against the opposite face of the wing member 31' and the leg 21 and be secured to the latter. The remainder of the L-shaped structure will then extend from between the over-folded portions as illustrated in Fig. 2. 1

In Fig. 3, the collapsed container of Fig. 2 is illustrated as being squared and provided with glue lines 43 and 44, respectively, as shown on the side wall extension flaps 38 and 39; and glue is also preferably applied to the wing member 30 at this time, as indicated at 45, although, alternatively, glue could be applied to the'top of the flap 36 or bottom of panel section 28 in order to ,hold this portion to the top, closure panelin fixed position. Thereafter, wing members 30 and 31 are tucked into the carton and wing member 30 will adhere to side wall 13 after the tab 36 has been tucked into to underlie th n elsection 8 wh ch new atta ns a fi e po i f r e p of the n inen lt-.-wi1l be observed a reenforcing tab 34 has previously been secured to panel 29 becanse of-the glue 35 in the original folding operation as illustrated in Fig. 2.

Withthe top of the container closed, a foil wrapped cigarette package ,46 is end or bottom loaded into the container as shown in Fig. 4, whereupon the end extension flaps 40 and 41 are infolded, followed by the infolding of the extension flaps 38 and 39 in the conventional manner to secure these flaps in permanent position with respect to each other to provide the permanent bottom for the container.

A tax stamp 47 is next placed across the hinged top closure panel 29 and afiixed to the side walls 12 and 13 following which a cellophane wrapper 48 is sealed, tog ther with a tear strip 49, around the entire unit.

Whenthe user removes the tear strip, the hinged top closure 29, reenforced by the tab 34, is raised thus breaking the seal 47. A small portion of the foil is torn from the edge of the underlying cigarette package and,- by tapping the container top at the fixed panel section 28, with one hand, against the other hand, a cigarette 5.0 readily can be ejected.

It will be observed that the oppositely disposed wing members 31 and 31' provide a limit stop for the reenforced hinged closure panel 29. That is, when the latter is completely closed,geach of said wing members come into edge abutment with the first wing member 30 and the leg 21 along the cut edges 32 and 33; and when the hinged panel is in open position, the wing members 31 and 31' come into edge abutment with the end wall 15, as shown in Fig. 8. Because of the fact that the wing members 31 and 31' are in frictional engagement with the side walls 12 and 13, and with the foil wrapped cigarette package, between which said wing members are located, the hinged panel '29 will automatically be held in opened or closed position, or in any intermediate position therebetween.

It will thus be seen that the objects hereinbefore set forthmay readily and efficiently be attained and since certain-changes maybe made in the above article and different embodiments .of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description, or shown in the accompanying drawings, shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of languagemnight. be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In .a die-cut and scored blank of paperfboard material, to be folded and secured together in collapsed form, adapted for use in forming a dispensing container for a cigarettepackage; a rectangularly shaped panel divided into two pairs of similar portions by two pairs of transverse, parallel score lines to provide alternate side and end walls for said container; a generally L-shape'd structure hingedly connected along its leg to one of said walls, and having a foot defined by parallel score lines to provide a closure panel at the top of said container, said closure panel having a hinge line between said last named parallel score lines, dividing said closure panel into two sections, one of which sections has a first wing member opposite said leg and securable to an adjacent side wall to provide a fixed closure panel section, and the other of which sections provides a hinged closure panelv section to open and, close said container; and

oppositely disposed wing members on said hinged closure panel, to provide a limit stop therefor, as each respectively comes into edge abutment with said first wing member and said leg when said hinged panel is in closed position, in edge abutment with an end wall when the same is in opened position, and in frictional engagement with said side walls to mantain the same opened or closed position, after said blank has been folded and secured together in collapsed form and erected into container form.

2. In a collapsed dispensing container, made from a blank of die-cut and scored paper-board material, adapted for use in dispensing cigarettes from a package to be contained therein; a rectangularly shaped panel divided into two pairs of similar portions by two pairs of transverse parallel score lines providing alternate side and end walls for said container; a generally L-shaped structure hingedly connected along its leg to one of said end walls, and having a foot defined by parallel score lines .to provide a closure panel at the top of said container, said closure panel having a hinge line between said last named parallel score lines, dividing said closure panel into two sections, one of which sections has a first wing member opposite said leg and securable to an adjacent side wall to provide a fixed closure panel section, and the other of which sections provides a hinged closure panel section to open and close said container; and oppositely disposed wing members on said hinged closure panel, to provide a limit stop therefor, as each respectively comes into edge abutment with said first wing member and said leg when said said hinged panel is in closed position, in edge abutment with an end wall when the same is in opened position, and in frictional engagement with said side walls to maintain the same in opened or closed position, after said blank has been folded and secured together in collapsed form and erected into container form; said container, when folded and secured in collapsed form, having said leg of said L-shaped structure and attached end wall folded upon an adjacent side wall, and an adjacent wing member folded in part upon said adjacent side wall and in part upon the other end wall, said remaining side wall being folded against the opposite face of said adjacent wing member and Said leg and secured to the latter; and the remainder of said L-shaped structure extending from between said overfolded positions at one end thereof.

3. A dispensing container, adapted for use in dispensing cigarettes from a package contained therein, made from a die-cut and scored blank of paper-board material that has been folded and secured together in collapsed form and squared into container form, comprising a rectangularly shaped panel divided into two pairs of similar portions by two pairs of transverse parallel score lines to provide oppositely disposed alternate end and side walls; a generally L-shaped structure connected along its leg to one of said end walls and marginally secured to an adjacent side wall, and having a foot defined by parallel score lines to provide a closure panel at the top of said container, said closure panel having a hinge line between said parallel score lines, dividing said closure panel into two sections, one of which sections has a first wing member opposite said leg and secured to the opposite side wall to provide a fixed closure panel section, and the other of which sections provides a sealed hinged closure panel section to open and close said container after said seal has been broken; oppositely disposed wing members on said hinged closure panel, to provide a limit stop therefor, as each respectively comes into edge abutment with said first wing member and said leg when said hinged panel is in closed position, in edge abutment with an end wall when the same is in opened position, and in frictional engagement with said side walls and said package to maintain the same in opened or closed position, after 5 said blank has been folded and secured together in collapsed form and erected into container form; and paskage loading bottom closure panels, opposite said closure panel, permanently secured together in overlapped relation after said package has been bottomloaded therein, providing a container having rigid side,

end, top and bottom walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

